We’re only about two months into 2023, but ahead of big titles being released this coming spring and summer, one perhaps unexpected movie is among the top grossing theatrical releases thus far. Tom Hanks’ dramedy A Man Called Otto has quietly crossed $100 million in box office earnings just a little over a month after it hit theaters amidst the more high-profile successes of Avatar 2 and M3GAN.
A Man Called Otto is a book-to-movie adaptation of the 2012 bestselling novel A Man Called Ove and a remake of the 2015 Swedish film that shares the book's title. The Tom Hanks movie is currently among the most successful 2023 new movie releases, as its combined earnings worldwide stand at $100.4 million, per Variety. The movie had Hanks channeling his inner grump as a newly retired and depressed man whose life is changed by the noisy new neighbors who move in across the street.
As the report notes, since COVID-19, few movies geared to an older audience like A Man Called Otto have made waves at the box office, but the Sony movie, in fact, did. Another rare example of a movie geared to primarily older moviegoers that found success at the box office was Elvis, which also starred Hanks and made $287 million worldwide during its summer profitable release.
Tom Hanks Returns With 'A Man Called Otto,' 'Road To Perdition' & More
A Man Called Otto made a bulk of its cash in North America with $61.2 million in box office earnings, but it also made about 40% from international territories, with English-speaking countries the United Kingdom and Australia leading the pack. The movie got positive reviews and even better audience reactions in a rare Hollywood hit focused on an intimate family story. Though, the kind of business it did in around a month was less than what latest Marvel flick Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania brought in at the box office during its opening weekend. But those are apples and oranges, you know?
Otto’s opening weekend blew past expectations back in January when the movie made nearly $15 million domestically during its long weekend debut against an estimated $4.2 million expectation from Box Office Mojo. It’s a solid sign that more movies are being viewed in theaters in 2023, even of the non-action variety, and perhaps a star as loved as Tom Hanks has pull with moviegoers when making their decisions to buy a ticket rather than stream one of the many great movies from his career at home.
This weekend, R-rated horror comedy Cocaine Bear is set to hit theaters, and in the week following, Creed III will deliver a silver screen fight. As the box office begins to warm up with spring releases in the coming weeks, it’s great to see that Tom Hanks’ heartfelt and emotional movie did some major business across the winter months.
